This is sort of a random chapter, but I was having too much fun bringing back some old familiar faces and letting Jack be himself - the next chapter will get back on track with James and Elizabeth, I promise. Sorry for the brief tangent - hope no one minds too much! I own nothing, obviously - Disney owns all.

20. Aboard the Black Pearl

James had forgotten how much he missed sailing, albeit on a pirate ship. Having given Jack the heading they needed and washed the bloodstains as best he could from his shirt and jacket, he roamed about the ship, appreciating everything from the rock-solid hardtack to the roll of the decks beneath his feet. Initially, the rest of Jack's crew regarded him as suspiciously as Anamaria had (all but Mr Gibbs, who quickly decided that the former admiral's return to life was not a cause for alarm), but when they saw that James had no intention to cause any trouble and was in fact quite willing to help hoist any sails or tie any lines, they grudgingly accepted him on board.

The wind blew strong all day in the direction they were heading – James had a strong feeling that it was not just coincidence. He wondered if the empty threat he had used on Jack about Calypso and her wrath had held more truth than he had guessed.

That evening, James stood on the deck watching the first real sunset he had seen in a decade, admiring the colors that the sun's dying light threw across the horizon. His thoughts turned to Elizabeth, and he wondered if she was watching this same sunset and thinking about Will, the golden rays of light making her skin glow. Lost in his thoughts, he did not notice Ariana Sparrow pop up at his elbow.

'You all right there?' she asked. James started, looked about, and finally looked down at the little girl.

'Oh! Yes, yes, I'm quite all right, thank you,' he replied, a bit flustered.

'Mum says you're from the Navy and you're planning to kill all of us, but Papa says you're a pirate just come back from the dead and won't,' she said matter-of-factly. James laughed.

'And what do you think?' he asked, curious to hear what her answer would be.

She gave him a scrutinizing look, and said, 'I think your jacket looks very uncomfortable – aren't you far too warm in it?'

James began to laugh again at the randomness of this comment, and was about to reply when the silhouette of a ship against the sun caught his attention. Ariana followed his gaze, then scampered across the deck shouting, 'Mum! Mum! It's the Pearl!'

'What?' said Jack, poking his head out from his cabin and running on unsteady legs up to the deck on which James stood. 'About time I got my ship back, I'm sick of being stuck on this bloody wreck…' Anamaria, who had followed Jack up to the deck, slapped him across the face for this insult to her boat. Jack, whimpering sadly, looked to Mr Gibbs for help, and gave the old sailor a hurt look when he chuckled and said, 'No, Jack, you really did deserve that one.' Shrugging off the slap, Jack turned towards the approaching ship.

'Oi!' he roared, waving his arms wildly at the figures on the Pearl's deck and nearly hitting James in the face. 'Parlay, parlay! Don't even think about blowing holes in my wife's ship! Barbossa, a word with you, if you don't mind!'

The two ships were nearly parallel now, and between the fading rays of the sun and the pearly glow of the rising moon, James could clearly see the faces of the crew of the Black Pearl. Two of the men he recognized – Pintel stood jeering and brandishing a sword, somewhat more bald than James remembered, with Ragetti positioned right next to him, sporting an eye patch where his wooden eye had been and doing his best to look menacing. James rolled his eyes, remembering the time he had spent aboard the Pearl with them – what buffoons, he thought to himself. But his thoughts were cut short when a man with a scraggly beard and a large hat shoved his way to the front of the crowd of jeering pirates, who immediately fell silent.

'Jack,' he sneered, leaning against the railing of his ship with a calculating smile. 'What service may I do for ye?'

'Barbossa,' Jack greeted him. 'High time you gave me back my ship, eh?'

'Your ship?' Barbossa laughed mockingly. 'And where might your ship be – surely you're not referrin' to my ship, are ya Jack?'

'Surely we can reach some agreement,' called Jack over the sniggers of Barbossa's crew. 'I buy you a new hat, and you give me back the Pearl…'

'Uncle Hector!' shouted Ariana, bouncing to the railing and waving at Barbossa, who to James's confusion gave a genuine smile and called, 'Hello, Ari.' Jack rolled his eyes. 'For the last time, Ari, you're not allowed to call him "Uncle Hector" unless I have possession of the Pearl and he's not acting like the scurvy rogue he is...'

'How's this,' shouted James, finally speaking up as Jack continued to scold his daughter, 'you lend us the Pearl for two days on the condition we give it back.'

Barbossa raised an eyebrow. 'I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request,' he sneered. 'I'm not a fool, and I know very well that if I give him,' he jerked his head at Jack, 'control of my ship, I won't be seein' it again for quite some time.' He stopped and looked closely at James for the first time. 'Who are ya, anyway?' he asked James; from out of the corner of his eye, James saw Pintel's jaw drop slightly as he nudged Ragetti hard in the ribs with his elbow.

'Not a pirate, and therefore someone whose word can be trusted,' answered James.

'It's the commodore!' shouted Pintel in disbelief.

'Yeah, and all that about him being so trustworthy is a load of 'ogwash,' added Ragetti, 'he tried to kill Cap'n Jack, remember?'

'Yeah…' Pintel shook his head, still slightly stunned. 'But Will was tryin' to kill Cap'n Jack too, remember, and he turned out all right…'

'What are you talkin' about, you blitherin' idiots?' snapped Barbossa.

'Commodore Norrington,' said Pintel, pointing at James. Barbossa immediately glared at James, his eyes narrowed.

'Ah,' he growled. 'Then you'll be the one who had my entire crew hanged after that whole adventure on the Isla de Muerta.'

'Except us, 'cause we escaped thanks to Divine Providence,' piped up Ragetti. Barbossa ignored him.

'I admit I did,' replied James, 'but I would remind you that I was just doing my job, and your crew had launched a surprise attack and already killed a number of my crew when I apprehended them… not to mention they did quite a bit of damage to both people and property back at Port Royal. I therefore think that their hanging was well justified.'

'Aye,' agreed Barbossa, 'but they were just doin' their job too, I'd remind you.'

James rolled his eyes, amazed at Barbossa's inability to differentiate massacre from self-defense. 'Pirates. So, can we borrow the ship or no?'

'What difference does it make to you?' asked Barbossa rudely. 'I thought you just said you were not a pirate.'

'No, but I do have need of the fastest ship in the Caribbean, and believe that that would be the Black Pearl.'

'Aye, that it would be,' said Barbossa fondly, 'but you've still given me no good reason to comply with your demands.'

'Hmm,' said James. 'Does the name "Calypso" mean anything to you, Mr Barbossa?'

Barbossa narrowed his eyes. 'And if it did?' he asked warily.

'If it did, you might be interested to know that it is the wish of Calypso that I reach my destination as quickly as possible.' James watched Barbossa closely and was pleased to notice that he looked distinctly uncomfortable for a moment. 'So, if you won't let us use the ship, then perhaps you would agree to take me to my destination?'

Barbossa thought for a second, looked cautiously up at the sky, and finally said, 'Agreed.'

'Now, wait just a moment, here,' cut in Jack. 'You will still have need for my compass, and I have no intention of letting you run off with it, Norrie, sorry to say.'

'Well, you'll just have to come along then, too, won't you?' said James with some irritation. Grabbing hold of a rope, he swung himself over to the deck of the Black Pearl.

'Wait, come back!' yelled Jack, waving his arms in agitation. He turned to Anamaria. 'Sorry, love, but I've got some business to attend to – meet me on Tortuga in a few days, savvy?' She rolled her eyes slightly but could not resist giving him a quick kiss. 'Be good now, you hear? No more stealing Mr Gibbs's rum,' Jack said to Ariana, tweaking her nose lovingly before grabbing another rope and swinging over to the Pearl as it began to turn and sail away.

'What,' said Jack, landing unsteadily on the deck and stumbling over to James, 'was that all about?'

James raised an eyebrow. 'I thought you'd see that this works to both our advantage,' he said, 'I get to Elizabeth quicker, and you can keep an eye on the Pearl and take it back…'

'… at the opportune moment,' finished Jack, realization dawning on his face. 'I give you credit, mate, this works for me.'

'Glad to hear it, Jack.'

'Oh, are we on first-name terms now? This mean I can call you Jimmy…?'

'No.'

'Very well, then…' Jack glanced lovingly about the deck of his former ship. 'Shall we go give the helmsman the heading, then?'

'After you.'

As they made their way to the helm, Barbossa thrust a warning finger at Jack. 'Rest assured I'll be keepin' an eye on ye, Jack, so no funny business now, ya hear?'

'Funny business?' said Jack with an innocent face. 'Come now, Hector, since when have I ever done anything that would make you suspect me of…'

'Don't try to pull this act off on me, Jack!' Jack leaned back slightly as Barbossa leaned menacingly towards him, biting into a juicy apple with a loud crunch. 'First sign of a mutiny, and it's off to Davy Jones's Locker with you!'

'Will Turner's Locker, actually,' muttered Jack as Barbossa stalked moodily down to his cabin. James snorted with laughter, wondering how Jack and Barbossa would survive a whole day of each other's presence.

James was not disappointed – he watched in amusement as Jack and Barbossa spent the whole next day fighting for the acknowledgement of the crew as captain. By noon, though, it had become a bit wearying to watch Jack bob constantly next to Barbossa, counteracting everything the latter had to say. James sighed, watching Ragetti chase Pintel around the deck because Pintel had stolen his eye patch, and thinking about Elizabeth once again. Would she be irritated at him for having come back to life? Would she be angry that he was planning on dropping in on her so unexpectedly? Would she let him meet her son, and if so, would they like each other? And how would Elizabeth react to what James had come back from the Locker to do? He shook his head, deciding that he would not tell her why he had come back – she would find out soon enough.

A cry from Ragetti made James look up – an island was looming on the horizon, the waters about it sparkling in the afternoon sun. James peeked at the compass he was clutching in his hand – the hand was pointing to the north end of the island. Snapping the compass closed, James turned to talk to the helmsman and found himself face to face with Barbossa.

'I regret to say that we'll have to drop you off here, Commodore,' said Barbossa, not looking regretful in the slightest. 'The inhabitants of these islands tend not to take too kindly to pirates, and I won't be givin' you the opportunity to sound the alarm on us.'

'Fair enough,' agreed James, a bit startled at having been addressed with his former title. Placing the compass in Jack's hand, he turned and did a graceful swan dive into the sea. 'Thank you!' he called as he emerged on the surface of the water and began to swim to shore.

'So long, Norrie!' called Jack with a wave. He turned to find Barbossa's sword pointed at his throat. 'Oh.'

'Now Jack,' sneered Barbossa, 'you didn't think I'd let you stay on my ship any longer than necessary, did ya?'

'Well, I actually thought…'

'You thought wrong!' snarled Barbossa, advancing. 'I won't take the chance of losing my ship to you in some ridiculous fashion, not after the last time you stole it from me!' He brandished the sword. 'Off you go!'

Jack gave him a hurt look. 'Right, mate, but if the villagers decide to have me hung, my blood is on your hands, and I expect you'll be extra polite to my wife and daughter when you meet them, eh?'

Barbossa rolled his eyes. 'I'll be sure to give a touching eulogy at your funeral, Jack,' he said sarcastically, 'now OFF!'

Grumbling, Jack pocketed his compass and, giving the railing a last fond pat, jumped from the deck of his ship and swam after James.

Well, that was fun, if not random. Again, sorry for those of you violently opposed to the not-exactly-necessary reappearance of Barbossa, Pintel, and Ragetti, and I swear from now on it'll be all about James and Elizabeth (with a bit of Jack thrown in on the side, as he has no choice but to go with James...) Please review!